Skeleton wheels



Dec. 20, 1960 R. L. WOODWARD 2,965,027

SKELETON WHEELS Filed Aug. 9, 1957 I Fig. 2

INVENTOR ROLE/LT L. WOODM/Afl-D BYCMKW Lad SKELETQN WHEELS Robert L. Woodward, Rte. 1, Freeland, Mich. Filed Aug. 9, 1957, Ser. No. 677,244 Claims. (Cl. 101-420) The invention relates to an improvement in printing presses and more particularly concerns an improvement in the skeleton wheels of off-set printing presses.

One of the defects of off-set printing presses resides in the tendency of the skeleton wheels to cause streaking or lining of the freshly printed side of the sheet as the skeleton wheels forward the printed sheet to the takeaway belt. This streaking or lining of the printed sheet frequently results in a financial loss to the printer in that a price adjustment must be made for the imperfect work. In the past it has been difiicult if not impossible to set up the press in such a manner that the printer can be sure that the skeleton wheels will not smear a certain percentage of his printed subject matter, and in some cases the imperfect work may become a total loss in the case of fastidious customers. It is therefore a desideratum in the art to which the invention relates to provide a means whereby the skeleton wheels may be made to act without causing smearing or lining of the wet ink as they throw or forward the freshly printed sheet to the conveying system.

An object of the invention is to provide a simple means whereby the skeleton wheels can be pre-adjusted so that their forwarding surfaces do not come in contact with the paper in those areas where the fresh ink is present.

A further object of the invention provides means whereby segments of the periphery of the wheel may be readily removed during the period when the press is being set whereby to allow the contact surface of the wheels to be spaced so that they will not overide the inked surface of the printed sheet.

Another object of the invention is to provide a means whereby the periphery of the skeleton wheel may be rendered discontinuous as desired when the press is being set up and prepared for a run.

Other further objects will be apparent during the course of the following description which taken in con nection with the annexed drawings sets forth in detail certain means of carrying out the invention, such disclosed means illustrating, however, but one of various ways in which the principle of the invention may be used.

In the drawings:

Fig. l is a side elevation showing my improved skeleton wheel.

Fig. 2 is a sectional view taken along lines 22 of Fig. 1 showing further details of the improved skeleton wheel.

Fig. 2 is a sectional elevational view taken along lines 2-2 of Fig. 1 showing further details of the improved skeleton wheel.

Referring to Fig. 1 a conventional skeleton wheel has been modified as by being cut away in a lathe to give a wheel, generally indicated at 1, of reduced diameter. Segmented plates 3 are shown secured to the main portion of the wheel 1 to give a wheel of the desired diameter. In a preferred embodiment the segmented plates 3 are provided with cut-out sections or scalloped edges indicated at 4 (Fig. 3) to further alleviate the streaking or lining that may occur. The segmented plate sections 3 are shown secured to the main body of the skeleton wheel 1 as by screws or bolts 5 which are suitably threaded into the body portion 1 of the wheel. It is within the purview of the invention to employ other 2,965,027 Patented Dec. 20, 1960 means of securing the segmented sections 3 to the inner wheel portion 1. Such means may include easily removable rivets, quick locking bolts, or the like. As is conventional the skeleton wheel 1 is bored at 6 to accommodate a shaft support (not shown). Clamp member 7 provided with set screw 8 serves as a means of securing the skeleton wheel I to the shaft at the desired location.

In the operation of the improved skeleton wheel it will be apprehended that several of these wheels will be positioned on the supporting shaft and thereafter during the operation of setting up the press various segments 3 of the various skeleton wheels will be removed to present contact of the outer peripheral surface with the area of the sheet freshly inked. In this manner adjustment of the skeleton wheels can be readily made so that the freshly inked copy is not smeared or lined by the wheels as they forward the freshly printed material to the takeaway system. At the same time use has shown that skeleton wheels modified in accordance with the invention forward freshly printed copy perfectly without tearing the paper or otherwise malforming it.

I claim:

1. A skeleton wheel for an off-set printing press comprising an inner housing portion having a substantially flat arcuate disc shaped section and a shaft engaging section integral therewith, and detachably secured sections attached to the inner housing portion adapated to extend beyond the peripheral edge of the inner housing and to provide a substantially continuous extension of the periphery of the inner housing of the desired diameter.

2. A skeleton wheel for an off-set printing press comprising an inner housing portion having a substantially flat arcuate disc shaped section and a shaft engaging section centrally and integrally disposed therewith, and a plurality of substantially pie shaped segments detachably secured to the inner housing portion adapted to extend beyond the inner edge of the peripheral housing and to provide a substantially continuous extension of the inner housing of the desired diameter.

3. A skeleton wheel for an otf-set printing press comprising an inner housing portion having a substantially fiat arcuate disc shaped section and a shaft engaging section centrally and integrally disposed therewith, and a plurality of substantially pie shaped segment portions detachably secured to the inner housing, said segmented portions having their peripheral edge notched out at intervals.

4. In a skeleton wheel for an off-set printing press the combination which includes an arcuate disk shaped inner wheel portion with its usual shaft clamping arrangement, and a plurality of segmented sections detachably secured adjacent the outer diameter of the wheel, said segmented portions adapted to provide and form a substantially uninterrupted larger diameter for the wheel.

5. In a skeleton wheel for an off-set printing press the combination which includes an arcuate disk shaped wheel of a reduced diameter, and means extending beyond the peripheral edge of said reduced diameter wheel, said means adapted to form a projected periphery of said wheel, said projecting means being detachably secured to the reduced diameter wheel.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 257,575 Hawkins May 9, 1882 580,470 Schwarzschild Apr. 13, 1897 1,605,000 Spencer June 26, 1928 2,055,319 Cross June 5, 1951 2,730,590 Grassi Jan. 17, 1956 2,740,355 Wumphheimer Apr. 3, 1956 

